Agencies hire 1,000 off welfare rolls in a month

Federal agencies hired more than 1,000 former welfare recipients during the month of October and are 80 percent of the way toward meeting President Clinton's goal of hiring 10,000 people off the welfare rolls by the year 2000, according to statistics released by the Office of Personnel Management.

At the end of September, the government had hired 7,087 welfare recipients and was 67 percent of the way toward meeting Clinton's goal. However, after hiring pushes by the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense and Veteran's Affairs, that number jumped to 8,462 new hires by the end of October.

The Agriculture Department hired 32 new ex-welfare recipients in the month and jumped closer to meeting its commitment of 375 such hires. Commerce picked up about 700 former recipients and has now met 48 percent of its goal of hiring 4,180 people off the welfare rolls. Continuing to be a leader in the welfare-to-work hiring initiative, the Defense Department hired an additional 300 welfare workers and exceeded its goal by 14 percent. The Department of Veterans Affairs hired 250, beating its goal by 61 percent.

As of last April, a year after Clinton announced his initiative, agencies had hired only 3,600 former welfare recipients.

The Treasury Department still leads the pack, having recruited 956 welfare recipients, which is 551 more people than it was expected to hire. The Office of Personnel Management also made a strong showing, more than doubling its goal by hiring 27 extra workers.

Still, other agencies have a lot of catching up to do. The State Department is struggling to meet its target of hiring 220 former welfare recipients. The Justice Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency also have a way to go, having met just 46 percent of their commitment.

Here's how it breaks down by agency:

Welfare to Work: Federal Government
Commitments and Hires through Oct. 22, 1998